Telephone call-register.



No. 896,081. PATENTEDAUG. 18, 1908 B. B. BROGKWAY. TELEPHONE CALL REGISTER.-

APPLIUATION FILEDMAR. 30 1906.

31 wants:

Registers, of

i made out by the BYRON B. BROCKWAY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE DEAN ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF ELYRIA, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OIIIO.

TELEPHONE CALL-REGISTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 18, 1908.

Application filed March 30, 1906. Serial No. 308,955.

To all whom it my concern:

Be it known that I, BYRON B. BROOKWAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Telephone Callwhich the following is a s ecification, reference being had therein to t e accom anying drawing.

lV y invention relates to call registers for telephone systems, and'has for its object the production of a form of register which shall be efficient, simple in itself, and also very simple in its mode of mounting.

My register is of that type which is located at the subscribers station, this being for many reasons the most desirable type of register to be used in systems where the charges are based upon the number of messages transmitted from any station. In such case, if the registers are located at the central office, or if the message-count is based upon tickets operators, it is not only very difficult to prevent losses, but it is more difficult to satisfy the subscribers that false charges are not made against them. By permitting the subscriber to register his own 03.11;l11 such fashion that he can see and count the number of messages he has sent, at all times, three important ends are attained. The first is to satisfy tire subscriber the second is to relieve the operator of an undesirable addition to her work, and the third is to assure greater accuracy in the final records, with attendant saving of many calls which would otherwise be lost. It is true that with this system inspectors must be sent out to read the meters at stated intervals', but this has always been done in other public service systems, such as those supplying gas and electric light, and the expense of the inspectors has never been found prohibitive to my knowledge.

Several difficulties have heretofore existed in respect to subscribers registers. They have been subject to being tampered with, they have not been susceptible of application to all types of instruments, and they have not always been fool-proof, which is a sine qua non, Anything placed at the sub scribers station must be capable of operating only as it is intended to perform its function. If any possible means exists formisoporating, or mishandling a piece of apparatus, the subscriber or some of his family will find it. Pracmitter with the register tically the only act which the average person should be asked to perform in operating any apparatus is to ush a button orlever. The irkiltelligence "of t e untrained extends no furt er.

' It has been proposed to attach registers to different portions of the telephone set, and toll boxes have been .so attached, the idea being that a special sound produced in the dropping of a coin will produce sonorous vibrations in the frame or casing, thence in the transmitter, and thence by translation over the line, in the operators receiver. Such devices have not always worked well, for one reason because it is now common to insulate the diaphragm of the transmitter with a soft rubber band, which acts as a sound insulator as well as electrically. It has also been proposed to attach some portions of the toll apanatus or the like to the transmitter itself, but the attachment has always been unsatisfactory because being detachable of necessity, it could be taken off by other than authorized persons, and being fixed to other members than the transmitter, it necessarily limits the movement of the latter.

My register is designed to'obviat'e the objections to which I have referred, and many others. It com rises as itsessential element a lever-operate Veeder cyclometer register attached within the shell of the transmitter, and provided with means to produce a'distinctive sound each time it is operated. The figures of the register are readable through an opening in the front plate, and the entire instrument may be so sealed up if-required, as to remove any possibility of tampering.

In the drawings which form a part of this application Figure 1 is a sectional view taken by breaking away theleft side of the transmitter and the inclosing case of the register sufficiently to show the interior of the latter.- Fig.3 is a front View of the shell of the trans secured in place, but the front plate and transmitter moved. Fig. 3 is a face view of t 1e transmitter with the register, complete...

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents a transmitter front and 2 the mouthpiece thereof, 3 the diaphragm and 4 the carbon button, all of the ordinary or any desired type.

5 represents an inelosing shell adapted to fit the front plate land carrying or having formed integral with it an extension shell 6 arts refor the register. This extension shell has a removable front-plate 7 with an aperture 8, through which the numbers in the register 9 may be seen. This register, as I have stated, is of the Veeder cyclometer type, and is secured to the back of the inclosing shell 6 by a screw 10.-

Secured to the shaft 11 of the register is an operating lever 12 provided with a thumb piece 13 projecting through a slot 14 in the ottom of the inclosing shell 6. The upper end of this operating lever is provided with a stud or pin 15 adapted to engage with and operate t e reed 16, of peculiar formation, mounted upon a post 17, secured to the back of the inclosing. shell 6. The forward end of this reed, or that engaged by the pin, has a de pending ear or tongue 18 which is bent so as to form a pair of cam-faces for the pin. to ride, upon. The operating lever has a coiled spring within the cyclometer, not shown in t e present drawings, which returns it to normal position, as shown in Fig. 1, each time it is actuated. The pin 15 of the lever rides up over the tongue 18 in its forward movement and rides under the tongue, pressing it upward in its backward movement. At the extremity of each movement the pin slips off thetongue, and by suddenly releasing it while under tension, causes it to vibrate.

When a subscribercalls central, before he is connected with the line wanted, he is told to register, and when his thumb-piece 13 is depressed the pin 15 rides over the tongue 18, passes the reed, and the latter snaps up with a sound which is communicated to the back of the diaphragm through the air and thence to the carbon button. At this time the lever is at the end of its forward movement, and when returned by the spring the pin again engages the tongue upon the under side and raises it up ,until the lever gets to the end of its backward movement, when it is again released and allowed to drop, roducing another sound also communicate to the diaphragm, and the resistance button. In making the forward movement the meter is operated and a new number registered on the right hand disk. At stated periods, readings are taken from all the registers at the substations, and the amount of chargeable business thus determined.

It will be observed that by this arrangement I avoid any obstruction in front of the transmitter, or on its supporting parts. I cause a vibration in the inclosed air back of the diaphragm, and I render it possible to fit any instrument, as itis only necessary to change the shell, and the number of sizes in standard shells is now very limited.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. Acall register for a teleph. n1e:systom carried in and secured to a transmitter shell so as to communicate directly with the back of the diaphragm, and a member permanently secured to such register extending through such shell, adapted to operate such:

register, substantially as described.

2. A call register for transmitters comrisin a re isterin device and a soundin device carried by and within the transmitter shell, said sounding device adapted to communicate its vibrations directly to the diaphragm, and a member permanently secured to such register extending through such shell,

.ada ted to operate such register, substantial y as described.

3. A call register for telephone systems, comprising a registering device and a sounding device operated simultaneously therewith, said devices carrieddirectly in the transmitter and said sounding device adapted to direct its vibrations or sounds to the back of the diaphragm, and a member permanently secured to such register extending through such shell, adapted to operate such register, substantially as described.

4. In a device of theclass described,.the combination with the transmitter shell, of an extension shell carried thereby, registering means and sounding means within said ex-v 5. In a device of the class described, the

combination with a transmitter having a front plate and a diaphragm bearing thereagainst, of an inclosing shell mounted on the front late, a registering device carried Within an behind said front plate so as to be visible to the user of the tele hone, means for operating said registering evice, a soundin device, said register-operating means adapte also to operate said sounding device so that at the same time the sound is communicated to the diaphragm from the sounding. device, the register is operated to record the call, and a lever permanently connected to such register extending through such shell, adapted to operate such register, substantially as described.

6. In a device of the class,.,described, the combination with a transmitt'efmtshell, of an extension shell .carried thereby, registering means secured within said extension shell, a sounding device also secured within the .extension shell, an operating lever permanently connected to such register extending through such shell and adapted to simultaneously operate the sounding device and the registering device, and a front plate for the shell, having a sight opening, substantially as described.

7. In a call register, the combination with a transmitter shell, a sounding reed mounted In testimony whereof I aflix my signature therein, a reglstering device also mounted in presence of two Witnesses.

therein, and a, lever permanently connected to such register, extending through such BYRON BROQKWAY' 5 shell, for operating said registering device, Witnesses:

'and an extension on said operating means for f RAY. H. MANSON,

vibrating the sounding reed. A. D. T. LIBBY. 

